Mahama’s Lawsuit: 'External collaborators of this dubious administration

A private legal practitioner, Lawyer Edudzi Tamakloe, who doubles as a member of the Communications Team of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) says the lawsuit against former President John Dramani Mahama is a calculated effort by the national security to confuse NDC delegates to vote against Mahama on February 23, 2019.

A Ghanaian businessman is challenging the legibility of former President John Mahama to stand for elections in his bid to ultimately win the presidential election in 2020.

Stephen Agyeman is praying the High Court to declare that Mr Mahama, in raising funds to support his bid to be elected as a flagbearer/presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in his capacity as a former President of the Republic of Ghana violates Article 68 (2) of the 1992 Constitution.

He is further praying the court to hold that former President Mahama’s establishment of a campaign office for the purpose of seeking to co-ordinate his activities in his quest to become flagbearer/presidential candidate of the NDC constitutes an office of emolument or profit within the context of Article 68 (2) of the 1992 Constitution and same having been established without Parliamentary permission was in contravention of Article 68 (2) of the 1992 Constitution.

He stressed that on the face of the lawsuit and careful reading of the pleadings as reported in the Daily Graphic, it is much ado about nothing; insisting the suit is obviously coming from the external collaborators of Akufo-Addo’s administration.

Speaking on Radio Gold’s “Alhaji and Alhaji” programme, lawyer Tamakloe asserted that the whole suit was perfectly timed with the idea of confusing the delegates to choose another Flagbearer other than former President John Mahama as next week Saturday happens to be the day to choose a Presidential Candidate for the NDC.

“It is a suit obviously coming from the external collaborators of this dubious administration of this government that has come to the inevitable conclusion that they are leaving power in 2020 and therefore had device this strategy to confuse the issue . . . the whole idea is that a week today, Saturday, the delegates of the NDC will be voting and so if you push in the suit now, the delegates will be confused that there is a suit; won’t it affect him [Mahama] if we vote for him? So this is a work of National Security. The Akufo-Addo administration had come to the irresistible conclusion that they are leaving office,” he asserted.

He indicated that the earlier delay of the Presidential Primary of the NDC was as a result of work of the National Security and others, preparing this particular lawsuit at this time as they had then taken the view that if the earlier postponement had happened, there was no way this suit was going to happen.

“One of the reasons for the delay of the internal primaries of the party was that the national security and others were preparing this particular suit because they had then taken the view that if this thing had happened earlier, there was no way this suit was going to happen. So this suit that went to the court that eventually led to the postponement of the elections, all of these things were calculated,” he claimed.

He strongly believes that it is too late for the Akufo-Addo government and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to change the minds of the NDC delegates who will be choosing former President Mahama as the Presidential Candidate for the 2020 general elections.

“It matters not now, where we have gotten to now, one leg is already out; it is little effort and hard work to take the other leg; the elephant is definitely going to fight and so this whole suit, let no delegates of our party be mistaken. It is a national security sponsored suit with the sole purpose of disrupting the issues, confusing delegates of our party,” he maintained.